"Le manège enchanté" (1964) TV series

Creator:

Serge Danot

Release Date:

1964 (France)

Genre:

Family | Animation

Plot Keywords:

Puppet

Cast

  (Series Credited cast)

Jacques Bodoin	...	Pollux (voice)
Serge Danot	...	Ambroise (voice)
Micheline Dax	...	Azalée (voice)
Bernard Haller	...	Pollux (voice)
Christian Riehl	...	Pollux (voice)
Eric Thompson	...	Narrator / All Characters (voice)

Also Known As:

The Magic Roundabout (UK)

Runtime:

5 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Company:

Danot Films

Trivia:

The programme started life as a French children's TV series "Le Manège Enchanté" (The Magic Roundabout). Dougal the Dog was named Pollux in the original French version and spoke French with a strong English accent. The animation was done by Ivor Wood who later went on to animate "The Herbs" (1968), "The Wombles" (1973), _"Paddington" (1975)_ and "Postman Pat" (1981). Eric Thompson was asked to narrate a translation of the French script, but chose instead to discard the French script and devise his own stories, based purely on what was happening on-screen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Whose Line Is It Anyway?: (#1.9)" (1988)

Trippy kids fun

Originally made for European TV, this achieved cult status when finally screened in Britain thanks to Eric Thompson's narration. Yes, it was Emma Thompson's dad who turned this into such a smash and the whole thing was rejigged again in 1990 when Nigel Planer took the voice over duties.

Still great fun for those kids who have now grown up and are watching it with their own children.

The animation is simple but effective and Thompson's scripts are deliciously witty. His voices for ever pompous Dougal, the sugar- munching dog and cocky Brian the snail never fail to engage.

Other characters such as Florence, Ermintrude the cow and Dylan, the hippy rabbit help round out one of the finest kids shows ever.

Track down Dougal and the Blue Cat if you want some feature length fun. Failing that, the five minute adventures are great fillers.